I Sing The Body Electronic: Amazon.ca: Fred Moody: Books

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An outsider is allowed into the labyrinth to watch a Microsoft multimedia project from conception to partial completion. If you are interested in understanding Microsoft's strengths--and weaknesses--breaking into new markets, this is a must-read book.

From Publishers Weekly

Freelance writer Moody spent the year from December 1992 through December 1993 with six members of a Microsoft unit that was developing a children's multimedia reference product named Sendak. As he was given virtually unlimited access to the group, Moody is able to present a week-by-week account of the trials and tribulations of each team member as they try to make Sendak a viable product. In describing the inner workings of Microsoft, Moody reveals a company not immune to the corporate politics and personality conflicts that afflict huge companies, but one that nevertheless is willing to push the boundaries of technology, driven by chairman Bill Gates's obsession with staying ahead of the competition. Indeed, Moody's accounts of meetings with Gates are compelling. A fast-paced read that does not get bogged down in technical jargon, the book suffers from one flaw: Sendak was far from finished when Moody's year with Microsoft was up, so he describes its completion and launch?the product was shipped in November 1994 under the name Explorapedia?in relatively few pages. 50,000 first printing.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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15 Reviews

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4.1 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars A GLIMPSE INSIDE..., Sep 8 2001

By

EriKa "E" (Iceland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Sing The Body Electronic (Paperback)

Have you ever wondered how the teams at Microsoft work? This book is an inside glimpse into how a work group there operates. It is not a comprehensive view of Microsoft�¿ and in fact each group could be said to have its own unique dynamics, but this book will provide a brief and useful view of the process of creating and shipping a product at Microsoft. This book follows several members of a group within a now defunct section of Microsoft. They were creating a product, and the book documents each person�¿s feelings, opinions, and unique perspectives on getting their own jobs done�¿ and how they have to work together to accomplish the ultimate goal of creating a product. Microsoft employees, it is shown, have a great deal of personal freedom and latitude in doing their jobs, but when it comes to working together in a team, their very idiosyncratic personalities often conflict. Add to this a very strange but not surprising element of artists versus programmers versus project managers. Add yet more�¿ regular Microsoft employees versus contract employees. Whether the friction and problems the book conveys are real or not, they are perceived by many employees, which affects the work environment. An interesting aspect of the business model and organizational chart is that the employees are only a few levels (3 or 4) away from Bill Gates (or the highest level of the company). Most people at some point in their careers are required to present their work to Gates (or equivalent level) at some point. The book depicts Gates as a very temperamental and demanding person who will look at something which is next to perfect, get angry about its flaws, and yell at the creators insisting on something much better. And then when the presentation is over and the creators leave, Gates says something about how brilliant it was, but if people think he did not like it, they will strive to make it more perfect. The book might be dated by now. Organizations change a great deal in just a few years. Microsoft was not being threatened by the Justice Department when this book was written, and although MS was a huge company then it was not as big as it is now. The book is the first to point out the effects of organizational change, and Microsoft, like most large companies, goes through organizational change frequently. Interesting book... worthwhile read.

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5.0 out of 5 stars SOftware Development and People, April 3 2001

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Dexter Aparicio (Philippines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Sing The Body Electronic (Paperback)

THe best book! Makes you feel comfortable if you are new working in a software development job. And how software development basically involves dealing with different kinds of people. ANd all the extremes in personality of the programmer. It also describes the rare and challenging lifestyle that the programmer pursues and chooses...

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4.0 out of 5 stars Rare first-hand account of a doomed software product, Dec 26 2000

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"hking8" (Redmond, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Sing The Body Electronic (Paperback)

The real value in this book is the great work that Fred did to get inside the development team, and then observe. I've worked at R&D in Microsoft for long enough to know that he probably is telling it largely as it happened. I didn't work on this project but I got pretty damned close.

Yep, it sometimes is that chaotic. It's interesting to see in the book how Fred doubts himself, and says things like "maybe I'm going crazy, but it seems like these people just had another useful offsite, but they all think it went great." Fred, you ain't crazy.

The only drawback of this book is that in places Fred tries to read into situations a bit too much. He steps a little too far out of the observer role a few times, which brings the quality down a bit. Also I think he missed a great opportunity to describe the turn-around (well at least they shipped something) at the end. Maybe he got kicked out around then?

The book has lots of direct quotes and first hand accounts of what went on. Want to see the dark side of things going wrong at Microsoft?? Read this book.

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible
I got a copy of "I Sing the Body Electronic" as well as another title by the author for my birthday, after a relative of mine happened to strike up a conversation with... Read more

Published on Aug 6 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars a detailed and dispassionate account of the project
Very few detailed accounts of software projects are written skillfully, dispassionately and with deep understanding of the subject. Mr. Read more

Published on Jun 28 2000 by E. Cancelada